Al Horford's minutes restriction (now 27-28 minutes) is in place for maintenance reasons, per Brad Stevens.

Horford had been limited to 25 minutes of late and it sounds like the Celtics could push him to a typical workload if they needed to. It's probably not what fantasy owners want to hear but if it keeps Horford in the lineup from here on out it's probably a deal worth taking. His fantasy-friendly game should still give him solid value, though he's no longer a lock for the top-50 that he once was.

Fantasy News

Tim Hardaway Jr. - G - New York Knicks

Tim Hardaway Jr. finished Monday's 109-127 loss to the Thunder with 23 points, three assists, a steal and four threes while going 7-of-14 from the field.

It's only Hardaway's second 20-plus game of the month as his playing time and field goal attempts have both taken a dip. That's usually the sign of a buy-low window considering THJ is New York's primary scorer and he dealt with some injury issues, but fantasy owners who are looking way ahead might be worried about a potential shutdown here. Hardaway should be a top-100 guy for as long as he's suiting up, but his poor shooting makes him prone to ugly runs.

Luke Kornet (left ankle) will undergo an MRI after X-rays returned "inconclusive."

"Inconclusive" is a lot less comforting than "negative," and we'd be surprised if Kornet escaped this without any missed games. He was initially diagnosed with a sprained left ankle. Mitchell Robinson and Enes Kanter are the beneficiaries here and could both hang onto standard-league value while Kornet is sidelined. As long as the Knicks are only using two of their three centers, the active pair will be on the fantasy radar.

Allonzo Trier was a bright spot for the Knicks on Monday as he posted 16 points (10-of-10 FT), six rebounds, a career-high eight assists and two steals.

The free throw makes are also a career-high. It's probably not a good sign that Trier is leading the team in assists, but it is another feather in his cap for what's been a very nice rookie season. He looks to be back ahead of Damyean Dotson in the pecking order and is fine to use in deeper fantasy leagues. Just get ready for Dotson to pull ahead again soon — this was the most Trier has played since November 27, and he's down at 17.9 mpg in January.

The Knicks got thrashed on Monday afternoon but saw some positive things out of Frank Ntilikina, who had nine points, two rebounds, five assists, a steal and a 3-pointer in 30 minutes of action.

Most importantly, Ntilikina was one of the few Knicks who looked even half-engaged on the defensive end. He only went 4-of-12 from the field but somehow finished as a plus-three in a game that featured a 20-point margin for well over 30 minutes. It should lead to more minutes for him going forward but you never know with the Knicks. Deep-league owners in need of steals and assists can keep an eye on his minutes going forward. Emmanuel Mudiay had an empty 14 points in 18 minutes and was a minus-21 as Oklahoma City jumped out of the gates and put this one to bed early.

Mitchell Robinson was able to play 16 minutes before fouling out on Monday afternoon while collecting eight points, six rebounds, a steal and two blocks in the process.

Robinson got a brief talking-to in the first half as the Thunder basically had a parade to the bucket, but it's not like the rookie was the only one at fault. Fantasy owners have to like that he registered two swats in his short stint today, as that's pretty much going to be the backbone of his value. He's an immediate add for anyone in need of blocks and a strong pickup in general if the Knicks really are planning on dropping Enes Kanter from the rotation. Robinson is in line for a big finish to the season if he can stay on the court.

Enes Kanter posted 11 points and three rebounds in 19 minutes during Monday's loss to the Thunder, just a few hours after David Fizdale said that Kanter was on his way out of the rotation.

Luke Kornet (two points, one rebound, one steal) sprained his ankle and left after just seven minutes, which threw Kanter a lifeline. After the game, Kanter said that he was unhappy about being out of the rotation and that while he loves New York he'd leave the next steps up to his management and the Knicks' decision-makers. This could become a major headache for the rest of the week unless the Knicks provide a definitive timeline for Kornet.

Paul George scored 31 points for the second consecutive game on Monday, going 9-of-18 from the field and 9-of-9 from the charity stripe along with four rebounds, four assists, four 3-pointers and a steal.

An easy day for PG as the Thunder were up comfortably after about eight minutes of action and never looked back. Jerami Grant, who has sneakily become another of OKC's consistent fantasy options, added 16 points, six rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a 3-pointer. There's never a reason to remove either player here from fantasy lineups.

Abdel Nader took full advantage of garbage time against the Knicks, scoring 16 points in the fourth quarter of Monday's win.

Nader ended up with 20 minutes on the day and was able to add six rebounds, two assists, two steals and two threes to his scoring numbers. He's emerged as a quality depth piece for OKC and is certainly on the radar in leagues with 20 teams or more. We wouldn't feel entirely comfortable with Nader since the return of Alex Abrines figures to hurt him, but he's played well enough over the last few weeks to stay on the court, even if it's only for a handful of minutes a night.

It's a little bit of a disappointment considering it's not all that different from Noel's usual work in about half the playing time. He remains an elite per-minute producer of steals and blocks and has a place on rosters in all roto formats, while he's more of a specialist for H2H leagues. Steven Adams had a light day of work with the Thunder leading throughout, posting 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes.